Capitol 824
Arranger and conductor: Gordon Jenkins
Track listing: Stardust / It’s All in the Game / When I Fall in Love / Ain’t Misbehavin’/ When Sunny Gets Blue / Love Is the Thing / At Last / Stay as Sweet as You Are / I Thought About Marie / Where Can I Go Without You
May 27, 1957
8 weeks
By the dawn of the rock era, Nat “King” Cole was already an established star, having scored several Number One singles, including “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Too Young” in the late ’40s and early ’50s, first with the Nat “King” Cole Trio and later as a solo artist. Although Cole had nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll, his popularity wasn’t affected by the arrival of Elvis Presley.
In 1956, Cole’s Ballads of the Day reached a respectable number 16. The following year, After Midnight, the first of four Cole albums released during 1957, peaked at number 13.
In December 1956, Cole entered the studio with an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins to cut Love Is the Thing, a collection of a dozen popular ballads. Composer Hoagy Carmichael said that Cole’s version of “Stardust,” included on the album, was his favorite. The album also included “Ain’t Misbehavin'” first popularized in the nightclub revue Connie’s Hot Chocolate by Louis Armstrong, and “When Sunny Gets Blue,” previously performed by Johnny Mathis.
Natalie Cole, the singer’s daughter, recalls that he frequently socialized with his peers and listened to their recordings. “I met all these people through my dad. Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Rosemary Clooney, and Peggy Lee,” she says. “I got turned on to that music at parties my parents had and by listening to the records my dad would bring home. Every afternoon my mother would sit in the library and turn on the music.”
Three of the tracks on Love Is the Thing — the title track, “When I Fall in Love,” and “Where Can I Go Without You” — were composed by Victor Young, songwriter of the earlier Cole hit “Mona Lisa.” The song “I Thought About Marie” was Jenkins’ written contribution to the album.
Like other popular signers of the day, Cole attempted to branch out into television and film. He began hosting his own TV show for NBC in November 1956. Although the show was popular with viewers, the fact that it was hosted by a black performer scared away potential advertisers. Cole fared better on the big screen, appearing in such films as Blue Gardenia and Small Town Girl in 1953, Istanbul and China Gate in 1957, and St. Louis Blues in 1958.
Yet music remained Cole’s forte. Love Is the Thing was the first and only chart-topping album of his lifetime. On February 15, 1965, he died of cancer. His music and legacy would live on, however, as his daughter Natalie would top the charts more than 25 years after his death with her version of songs made popular by her father.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of May 27, 1957
1. Love is the Thing, Nat “King” Cole
2. Hymns, Tennessee Ernie Ford
3. Calypso, Harry Belafonte
4. An Evening with Harry Belafonte, Harry Belafonte
5. My Fair Lady, Original Cast